One of the nation's top baseball prospects, a bright student headed to Vanderbilt, was found dead along the side of a Tennessee road on Tuesday after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, sending shockwaves throughout the Volunteer State baseball community.

"We found the body of Stephen Gant about 30 feet from the roadway with a gunshot wound," Perry County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Nick Weems told the Sun. "We do believe at this time that it was self-inflicted; however, we will continue to investigate to look at other possibilities to make sure it was suicide."

In fact, Gant's arm was so strong that some had even penciled the senior in as a likely first round draft pick in the forthcoming MLB draft.

On Tuesday, the communities that knew him and were looking forward to his arrival were still struggling to come to grips with the teenager's tragic death, as Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin made clear in a statement released to the press.

"This stops you right in your tracks," Corbin said in the release. "These are life occurrences that can't be explained ... there are no 'do-overs.'

"We are all deeply saddened for Gloria, Tony, his brothers and sister as well as the many friends that Stephen had. All we can do is be supportive for the family and be there for them."